Islamic Homophobia? LGBTQ Where are you?

Canadians value diversity and tolerance. Our constitution which sits on the Judeo/Christian ethic makes these values possible for it is this ethic that teaches all people are born with equal intrinsic value and all life is sacred. For that reason women were able to fight for equal rights and the gay community was able to come out of the closet and be respected and accepted. We have some a long way. Yet there have been dissenting voices like Christian Charles McVety. We hear about him in the news. What about the dissenting Muslim voices? Where is the LGBTQ community when Islam promotes homophobia?

Charles McVety, the president of Canada Christian College, has long been at the forefront of anti-gay activity. And he has been excoriated for his views.

Charles McVety, the so-called “evangelical leader” who delivered unto Doug Ford a social conservative Christian base, is less about loving and ministering to the poor and disadvantaged and more about promoting fear, hate and discrimination.

As he told the National Post in 2009: “This is part of a militant homosexual agenda to normalize homosexuality in everyone’s mind and thereby promote homosexuality… If we teach our children these things… guess what? That’s what they’ll practise.”

I think it would be fair comment to say that McVety is a little over-preoccupied with the “homosexual agenda,” wouldn’t you?

September 2011, the National Post wrote an apology for sharing an ad bought by the Institute for Canadian Values, headed by Charles McVety, which objected to teaching young children; those between junior kindergarten and Grade 3; about transsexual/transgender/intersexed/two-spirited issues. The ad—which pretends to be written by a doe-eyed, four-year-old girl—is headed by the phrase “Please! Don’t confuse me!”

“I’m a girl,” it reads. “Don’t teach me to question if I’m a boy, transsexual, transgendered, intersexed or two spirited.”

Michael Coren says that McVety “has long been at the forefront of anti-gay campaigns and Bernie Farber, chair of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network also shared his views on McVety.

CAHN went after the “notorious homophobe Bill Whatcott for Public Incitement of Hatred, aka hate speech. Whatcott infiltrated Toronto Pride under a fake name in 2016 to hand out ‘anti-sodomy’ pamphlets.” They referred to him as the man “responsible for distributing homophobic hate propaganda door to door” in their June 2018 News Release.

So where are the journalists from Main Stream Media when it comes to the statements made by leading Muslim scholars and Imams in Canada? And videos? And pamphlets? Where are Michael Coren and Bernie Farber, he of the CAHN? And Antonia Zerbisias? Where is rabble.ca? And the National Post?

Mazin AbdulAdhim is a prominent Canadian Muslim scholar and Imam of Iraqi descent who is affiliated with the pro-Caliphate Islamic global movement of Hizb ut-Tahrir. “Hizb ut-Tahrir is a political party that works with the global Muslim community to resume the Islamic way of life by re-establishing the Khilafah (caliphate) in the Muslim lands, and this work is achieved through intellectual and political means alone.”

On February 20, 2019 Mazin AbdulAdhim posted the following on his Facebook page: (archive)

I’ve been asked many times about whether or not I believe that homosexuality is genetic. And my answer is: I believe that homosexuality is absolutely not genetic in any way, shape, or form. It is entirely conceptual, period.

Why is homosexuality so prevalent today? And how are these inclinations being introduced into their minds? I believe the answer is there are two main sources for the widespread homosexuality we are witnessing today (aside from serious sexual abuse or an intentional hedonistic lifestyle choice):

1- Early exposure to sexuality without any guidelines, and

2- Direct suggestions by adults that homosexuality is normal.

…simply suggesting to a child who was, for example, taught about sexuality in school that feeling attracted to one or both genders is natural and normal, and that there is no need to feel like either one is specifically “normal” – hardly any child at the age of 8 or 10 or 12 has any independent capability of wrestling with such deep thoughts and figuring out right from wrong. Most adults can’t even figure it out without help. And these are trusted teachers teaching the children these things. So it is no wonder that homosexuality is becoming so prevalent throughout the West, as they fully embed these teachings into the very education curriculum of their schools starting at a very young age.

It is a sexual perversion, an illness of the desires, and it must be accepted as such.

I believe that the correct angle to approach Muslims and non-Muslim who are struggling with this issue is to tell them that their desires can be changed, and to show them the practical steps to do so. This is best because it will help them not feel like they are intrinsically, genetically corrupted, and know that they can change in a positive and natural way. They will realize that the corrupt society around them is to blame, not them or their internal design.

Wael Shihab, Imam of the mosque Masjid Toronto, affiliated with the Muslim Association of Canada (MAC): (I have written a series of articles about the Imam Elkasrawy at this mosque)

“Homosexuality is a sinful act in Islam… we should not associate with them and should not take them as friends… In Islam, changing one’s sex is not permissible if the person (male or female) has ‎complete male or female sex organs… Given the above, it’s my advice for him to return back to his original sex and go through professional counseling and treatment to lead normal happy life.”

“People who identify as transgender or transsexual are usually people who are born with typical male or female anatomies but feel as though they have been born into the ‘wrong body’. These individuals can gain mental treatment and guidance through counseling and therapy… It is prohibited to have a sex reassignment surgery in Islam.”

“So he said: what is the position of Islam on homosexuality? They ask me. So newspaper, right? So I said: put my name in the paper. The position is death. And we cannot change Islam.

“It [homosexuality] goes with Zionism. And really it seems like, Allah knows best if they are Dajjal’s (Antichrist) army while it is mostly Jews but probably there will be homosexuals with them too.

Shabir Ally, the President of the Islamic Information & Dawah Centre International in Toronto:

“But God’s law says that what we’re talking about here [homosexuality] is wrong, and if they do that wrong they have to face it.

Imam Syed B. Soharwardy, the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism (MAT) and the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC):

“According to the teachings of Islam homosexual behavior is an abnormal behavior and must be cured. Homosexuality is completely forbidden in Islam and it is one of the KABA-IR (big) sins according to Islam.”

“The Prophet [Mohammad] ﷺ told us that homosexuals are cursed by Allah as are the men who imitate or dress up like women.”

“In Islam, only a man can marry a woman and only a woman can marry a man–we are not allowed to marry people of the same gender. When people engage in same-sex relationships they go against the natural disposition (fitrah) of human beings and are unable to reproduce.”

“Being transgender is not permissible in Islam because choosing to imitate the opposite sex in movements and speech is not permissible in Islam.”

“All other members of the LGBTQ community make a choice to ‘feel’ that way despite the fact that Allah did not create them that way. This is why it is not permissible.”

Where are Michael Coren and Bernie Farber he of the CAHN Canadian Anti-Hate Network? And Antonia Zerbisias? Where is rabble.ca? Where is the LGBTQ community? Where is Prime Minister Trudeau who is a proud defender of the LGBTQ community? I only hear…silence; deafening silence when Islam promotes hate for gay people. Why is that?